2008 TUNE O’DE CROP RESULTS;
Edwin Yearwood – Handle your business
Nathalee – Sun til Sun
Mikey – Explosion
Here in Bim, who are those three? It seems the NCF, Machel Montano and the public… Because Barbadians were thrilled at the Trini entertainer’s concert delivery, and based on the response, he says he would come back again – no problem!
If you missed Red Hot Cohobblopot, trust me, you missed a LOT – I was totally euphoric afterwards… They had a final presentation of the King & Queen of the Crop as well as a display representing the original party animals in how Crop Over may have emerged over the decades – banging plastic drums, tyre rims, enamel cups and any other rythmic noisemaker available, their maestro was Ifie – late of Spice & Co.
Mac Fingall tried to be a weather wizard again, but he only get part of the story… He told folks no rain again until Monday evening to cool revellers – but rain did NOT come until early Tuesday morning! Be careful, Mac, you may create a drought!
The Bajan acts at the beginning were tedious in the sense they gave one song and they’re gone… All except krosfyah – who slammed a number of their hits much to the delight of the crowd (including Min’s/MP’s Michael Lashley, Esther Byer-Suckhoo & Richard Sealy)!
I sauntered over to the Brian Lara Pavilion where I ate some peppery Chinese food and in the middle of some huge shrimp, watched a chick in a short dress and high heels hurtling by shrieking in that peculiar sing-song of my former homeland; “Machel on, Machel on – Oh Gawd!“
I nearly required a Heimlich manoeuvre trying to Hoover spicy Asian delicacies in five seconds flat, to rush and see if I could get a vantage point near the front of the stage (Cohobblopot did not have a photo ops like Finals).
Being with other shutterbugs from over and away was bare sport, I actually watched Machel keep Li’l John from going too far in his infamous vocabulary… Everybody expected an incident – much like at CBC when crews there felt I would make a smart-ass comment at when the mike would leak, but in my 9 years there it never fell through!
Machel’s mastery of his presentation also didn’t fall at all while he blended reggaeton via Pitbull (Now, is he American, Cuban or from Puerto Rico – which is it?), then our own Bajan tuk-rythms, along with Trini-soca of yesteryear like David Rudder (I wish he was on for longer, to do stuff like Haiti, Bahia Gyal, Engine Room and Rally Round The West Indies) and Trini-soca from now with slender Patrice “Assume De Position” Roberts.
With some very sassy dancers, he even added a dash of Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” to his own Cohobblopot, thus justifying the NCF’s outlay on premium talent. I keep hearing rumours that local talent was offered only a fraction of what was presented to Machel… a) No talent has come fwd to confirm nor deny the fee issue; b) No Bajan has said anything to when Alison Hinds, Rupee or the same krosfyah play in Trinbago and (c) After Machel pays Musicians, Dancers, David Rudder, Patrice Roberts, Pitbull and Li’l John and his publicist – how much of that fee really falls in his pocket? Think on these things!
Machel’s full stage-name is MACHEL MONTANO HD, as in High Definition, that was perfectly clear from the get-go! So I scooted backstage to see if Machel had any words for me before he went to rest(?) before going and experiencing Kadooment…
He explained the whole segment was to show Barbados and the Caribbean that if Soca and in essence, ALL Caribbean music is to expand it has to initially assimilate the guise of where it’s heading – think about it, how much of Rihanna’s tunes really reflect Barbados? Do you hear her musically lamenting about not being near rotis, leadpipes and mauby, etc? How many of her CD’s would sell all over the world then?
Machel is also now a regular reader of Bajan Reporter, LOL, and says whether the NCF asks him back or not, he has plans do more based on the massive response from Kensington Oval that night/morning! I also await to see further development on his proposed seminar for composers/calypsonians…
Last thing – them concessionaires – OMG, THREE DOLLARS for a Coke? FOUR if a water bottle? They have gold caps? Businesses wonder why patrons would rather try and smuggle…
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